Synchronicity
by LFVoy
Summary: Fandom is the very short-lived 2007 TV Series, "Drive." Tully/Corinna pairing. They understood each other, they had the same goals, and together they made one hell of a team. Five times a partnership born out of convenience and desperation crossed into something more.
1. Chapter 1

_Drive_ is the copyrighted property of Twentieth-Century Fox. This fiction item is intended for entertainment purposes only. No compensation has been received or will be accepted for it, and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended or should be implied.

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_This one is rated M for a reason, folks. If that's an issue for you, please reconsider reading it._

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**Synchronicity**  
_Chapter One_

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They didn't discuss it after the first time it happened.

He was filthy and covered in blood when he brought Sean back, and under the grime Corinna was pretty sure she saw fresh bruises. When he ordered them all back out onto the road, she dug in. "No, Tully. You're exhausted, he's hurt and Winston and I are –" she cut herself off. _Too drunk to drive_ seemed to be admitting to weakness, and God knew they'd already broken enough laws, but right now not getting behind the wheel was a matter of survival.

"You and Winston are what?" he asked.

She sighed. "We're not in any condition to drive, either one of us."

His eyes sparked anger as he looked her over, and she knew he guessed the reason. "Well, we can't stay here. If I wasn't followed, then someone out there's pretty damn sloppy."

"We'll relocate," she answered. "Find another hideout. Close by." She met his eyes. "If you can hide once, you can do it again. And then all of us need some rest."

If the expression on his face was any indication, he seriously considered leaving them all behind exactly where they were. But he didn't say anything about it out loud. Instead, he just turned on his heel. "Come on, then."

They ended up camping outside, off the edge of a dirt road that redefined the word _nowhere_ and was at the end of at least three or four roads in barely paved condition. "Federal Land," said Tully when they stopped and parked the cars at right angles to provide some protection. "Nobody'll think we're stupid enough to risk this."

"I thought camping on Federal land was legal anyway," she answered.

"Camping is. Hiding out from an illegal cross-country road race? Not so much."

Maybe it was the lingering intoxication, but she actually laughed a little at that.

The conditions were beyond primitive, since nobody had any camping gear with them. Winston pulled what looked like a plastic drop cloth out of the back of his car and they used whatever they could find – clothes, a filthy blanket, the remains of a badly worn duffel – to make Sean as comfortable as they could. Tully produced a syringe and slipped him something that gave him enough release to get some sleep, before straightening up and looking at her.

"You, too," he said. "Since you're the one who's insisting we all need rest."

Looking around, Corinna saw that one of the nearby trees had some exposed roots that might give her something to lean against or curl into. For some reason she didn't want to just drop onto the ground where she stood. "Come on, Winston. Let's sleep it off."

"I'm fine right here," the other man answered. "That way I'll know if Sean wakes up."

"Up to you." After making her way over, she found enough leaves, straw and grass to create a bit of padding in one of the hollows. Corinna decided she didn't want to think about how clean her makeshift bed was, or what she might be sharing it with.

She was startled when Tully settled down next to her, and tossed him a curious look. "I need to get away from that for a bit," he said.

"What happened?"

"Ran into some…old friends." He flexed his fingers in a way that told her they were sore, and that was when she saw the scrapes on the knuckles. Those hadn't been there when he'd first left them at the hotel.

"At least pour some water over those. The last thing you need is an infection."

"I gave all our water to Salazar. We'll get some more and clean up in the morning. Which won't be very long now."

She might have argued, but didn't see the point. "All right."

Corinna shifted a couple of times, trying to find a comfortable enough position to allow herself to slip off into sleep. Beside her, she could hear Tully moving around too, presumably for the same reasons or maybe to stand some sort of watch. He was odd like that sometimes; despite the verbal contempt and rough manner, he occasionally acted in ways that were strangely considerate, almost protective toward her.

As if she was worth protecting. She shook her head, trying to blank her mind. Thinking too much wouldn't help.

"Huh," she heard him say. "Wouldn't have expected that."

She opened her eyes into the darkness. "Expected what?"

"Daffodil bulbs at the base of the tree."

"Daffodils?"

"Basic edging flower. Pretty, but tough. You just make sure they have enough water and light and they'll come back every year."

Sometimes she also forgot that he'd run a landscape company before being drafted into the race. "That's nice to know. You think someone planted these?"

"The spacing's too regular to be natural." She heard him rustling around. "Yeah. Someone's been taking care of this. Nothing too fancy, just…" he trailed off. "It's kind of like something I might do, just to make a little patch of something pretty in the middle of nowhere. If I had a stray plant or two left over from a job…" he trailed off again.

Corinna turned over to see him letting dirt run through his fingers. "You miss that."

"Yeah."

It wasn't like Tully to open up like this at all, so she figured it was a sign of his own exhaustion. Yet he couldn't seem to stay still: he patted the dirt, seemingly to look for more daffodils, then scrubbed at his hair and rearranged his shirt, then flexed his hands again.

"Hey. Alex. You need to get some sleep, too."

He sighed. "I can't. Not yet. I just keep thinking about –"

"Stop that." Pushing herself up off from her nest of goodness-knew-what, she reached over to put a hand on his shoulder. "You're not helping anyone, not even yourself, by doing that. Just try not to think for a while. We'll be on the road in the morning."

"Try not to think." A bitter edge crept into his voice. "Right."

He had a point. What else was there to do, except stare out at the dark and think?

No wonder he'd wanted to keep going.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I'll try to make it this quick as I can."

"No. You were right. It's dangerous to drive when you're exhausted." He stretched, although it didn't look particularly comfortable. "That's how you make dumb mistakes. When I was racing, I always made sure I got a good night's sleep the night before."

First he'd talked about landscaping, now he talked about racing. She decided she'd chalk his unusual openness up to him being as exhausted as she was. "How did you settle yourself down to do it, when you were too keyed up?"

"Unwind. Take a long walk, or get a little bit of exercise. Maybe find someone to –" he cut himself off, shaking his head, and this time she saw him wince toward one side.

"Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine."

"You didn't look that way a second ago."

"Get some sleep, Corinna."

"In a bit. I need to settle down a little first, too." She maneuvered behind him. "It's your shoulder, isn't it? I might be able to give you a hand with that."

The look on his face suggested he might object, but he didn't actually say anything when she found the knot and started to knead it. After a moment, he closed his eyes and she felt him exhale deeply. "Thanks."

"Not a problem." She leaned forward, trying to get a better angle, right at the same moment he turned his head toward her. It brought them face-to-face, close enough for their breaths to meet and mingle.

His breath was unexpectedly nice-smelling, reminding her that hers was likely anything but.

"There are other ways to unwind, too," she said after a second, telling herself that perhaps they could take a walk. But it came out with an entirely different tone.

Tully flicked his eyes up to meet hers, although he didn't move back. "I'm married."

And it was important to him, too. She sat back onto her heels. "I'm sorry. That wasn't – I wasn't trying to – it was – damn it." She stopped and took a breath. "God, I must still be drunk. I'll try and get some sleep."

"Hey," he said. "It's all right. I know. And you're right. I am wound up."

Corinna nodded. She really hadn't meant to imply anything. Had she?

She'd spent so much time in the last couple of years focused on the race, on finding out why her parents had been drafted and ultimately murdered. It was a slippery, scary chase and just keeping herself one step ahead of things had demanded all of her attention. There hadn't been time for more than the very occasional one-night stand.

That deprivation was, she'd convinced herself, why she'd felt an arrow of attraction shoot through her that first time she and Tully had gotten ahead of things, just outside of the gas station. He'd tossed her a satisfied smirk, and she'd found herself returning it. They _got_ each other, and they had the same goal, and they'd be one hell of a team.

Her body had just been confusing similarity with desirability.

"I'm sorry," she said again before beginning to scoot back toward her nest.

"Don't be. Wait –" he reached across to stop her, catching her chin more by accident than by design. She looked up at the gesture and their eyes locked again.

That was when she knew. Her body hadn't confused a damn thing, and it wasn't one-sided.

But he was married, and if that didn't mean anything then he had no business here at all.

She would have scooted backward again, but before she could move he did, abruptly dropping his hand to yank her toward him. She lost her balance, fell, but he caught her, pulling her across his lap. They didn't kiss, but his hands were in her hair and their faces were next to each other and her arms were wrapping around his shoulders.

"Tully," she started. "We're both tired and I'm –"

"I said you were right," he muttered. "Now shut up."

She did.

It was quick, dirty, and they only unfastened as much clothing as they had to. Yet he wasn't unkind. Even as she rocked herself down against him, he slid a hand between them, seeing to her needs, making sure she got as much out of it as he did. She was careful to stay quiet, and to suppress the urge to bite down on his shoulder as she found her peak. He followed her a moment later, burying his face against the side of her neck and exhaling hard.

Despite everything, she found her muscles beginning to release as she came down from the high. Under her hands, she could feel his shoulders and back doing the same. They had both been too keyed up to sleep, and this had solved that problem.

But it could potentially start a whole host of new ones, which was the last thing they needed.

There were too many other things going on.

Corinna didn't meet his eyes as she slid off his lap, re-fastened her pants and made her way back over toward the tree root she'd claimed. He didn't try to catch her gaze, instead looking away as he also put his clothing to rights.

She knew what she would say if he did. _Tully, it's all right. It's not the first time I've been a convenient body._ She'd have bet it wasn't his first time, either. They both knew what had – and hadn't – just happened.

But he didn't look back over, so she never said it.

When morning came shortly afterward and he shook her awake, his face was closed and unreadable. He kept his comments strictly about the race, and Sean's injuries, and the logistics of getting back on the road.

After that, there was never a good time to discuss it. As the day wore on, Corinna decided it was just as well. Sometimes things simply didn't need to be talked about.

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_No, this isn't my usual kind of fare; heck, _Drive_ isn't my usual kind of show. But there's a reason it touches a chord for me: it brings back good memories of my late father. He actually ran scavenger-hunt road races in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and he had started teaching me some of the techniques he used before he died. As for the story, sometimes it's good for a writer to explore their darker side. This comes from mine. I hope you'll hang with me._


	2. Chapter 2

_Drive_ is the copyrighted property of Twentieth-Century Fox. This fiction item is intended for entertainment purposes only. No compensation has been received or will be accepted for it, and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended or should be implied.

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**Synchronicity**  
_Chapter Two_

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The second time it happened, she couldn't bring herself to tell him the truth.

After telling her story to Kathryn Tully, with only a few edits – the omission of a certain night under a tree being among them – Corinna had watched the other woman for a reaction. It was the shocked horror she'd expected, but too muted for a woman who'd just heard about her husband going through hell. That had been the first indication that something wasn't quite right.

The next clue came when they'd stopped overnight somewhere and Kathryn was taken out of the back of the trailer for more questioning. She came back bruised and defiant, but the injuries were even more superficial than Corinna's had been after her sham of an interrogation.

But she hadn't heard Allan's voice among those outside, and suspected he was off somewhere else in the race.

The third piece of evidence, the one that made everything clear to Corinna, came two nights after the second when there was an unexpected pounding against the side of the trailer. They scrambled awake, pulling at their restraints, just before she saw the bright light of a cutting arc.

"Cover your eyes!" she called out, trying to keep her voice as low as possible.

Kathryn had screamed. "Oh, my God! Bright! It's too bright! It hurts!"

Was the woman completely clueless?

Whether it was her screaming, or the result of a night watch, or something else, all hell broke loose after that. Sean Salazar – a healed, healthy Sean – scrambled through the hole, careful not to touch the edges, with a pair of bolt cutters. As he cut them loose, she could dimly see Alex Tully tearing off a pair of goggles, dropping the improvised welder, and starting for his wife.

That was when floodlights switched on all around the truck, and Kathryn screamed again.

Corinna wasn't completely certain how things went after that. When she thought back, all she could remember was a set of disjointed events. Sean shoving her down to avoid a bullet that tried to stop their flight toward the car. The sound of a voice over a loudspeaker, mocking Alex in his rescue attempt. Alex's face as he stopped in his tracks, seeing the gun barrel at Kathryn's head.

As the night froze into a tableau, Corinna realized that due to the angle she could see something Alex couldn't: nobody was holding Kathryn's arms. The curve of her back was also relaxed, and when she looked closer she could see that the pistol's ammunition clip was slightly askew, as if it had been released but not removed.

Kathryn Tully was in no danger, and she knew that.

But her husband didn't.

There was only one logical explanation, but Corinna knew better than to try and blurt it out right then. Still, she had to close her eyes and turn away when she heard the deadly tone in Alex's voice. "Let her go."

Her "captor" just laughed.

"Take me instead. I'll do whatever the hell it is you want. Just let her go."

"But you see," said Mr. Bright, and Corinna opened her eyes to see him coming out of the shadows into the light. "As long as we have her, we have you too. Why should we have just one when we could have both?"

"There's nothing you need with her. _Nothing._ She was never involved in – in what came before."

Some brief expression crossed Kathryn's face at that, but it was too fast for Corinna to decipher it.

Bright strode up to stare hard into Alex's face. "You've made a good attempt this time, Mr. Tully. But you haven't quite succeeded in meeting your goal. We haven't even reached the Mississippi River yet, so there's still nearly two-thirds of the race left before you'll know if you win or lose. That's plenty of time to try again, and if you're clever enough, you could get back into first place."

He was visibly shaking. "You can have your damn race. I don't want the money. Just her."

"Well, we don't always get everything we want, do we?" At his nod, Kathryn's apparent captor began gently guiding her back toward the truck. "You got your meeting and explanation from Mr. Salazar. You got Ms. Wiles back. We're going to have to replace some of our equipment. All in all, it's been a good couple days of work." He paused and smiled. "I'm proud of you."

Alex's answer was an incoherent snarl. The pain underneath it had Corinna biting her lip to keep from calling out the truth. He wouldn't believe it.

"Get in the car, Mr. Tully. Or, rather, get into Mr. Salazar's car. You still have your own vehicle to recover and a race to win."

"Tully," said Sean from the passenger seat. "We can't win this one."

"No. _No_, damn it. We can't get this close and –"

Now Corinna did speak. "Tully, he's right. And she'll be safe. We need to go now. There'll be…" it was an effort to keep her voice even. "There'll be another chance."

That, she knew, was true enough. There'd be another near miss as soon as it looked like Tully needed a reminder, or some more prodding. It likely wouldn't be the last one, either. They'd keep on going for as long as it took, and Kathryn would likely be standing right at the finish line at the end of the race. Alex would die with his eyes on the person he loved the most, just like her parents had died within sight of her.

It seemed like a long time passed before he finally slumped his shoulders and started backing toward the car.

They were quiet for a long time after he started it and pulled away. Corinna didn't fight the tears that ran down her face. Wordless crying wouldn't reveal the secret she'd figured out, and she needed the release if she was going to handle the rest of the situation with her wits about her.

Sean was the one who finally broke the silence. "Are we going somewhere specific?"

Alex's voice was cold and far too controlled. "Yes. Cairo." He correctly pronounced the name of the Illinois city as _care-oh_. "That's where they'll want me next."

She shifted in her seat. "Where were we before?"

"An hour south of Chicago. We'll be there in a couple more, probably by daybreak."

"Even if we stop and take a break before then?" At his furious look, she straightened up and met his eyes briefly. "Look, whatever's going to happen in this place isn't something we need to deal with while strung out from the road. I'm talking about thirty or forty minutes, Tully. Just enough to recharge. Is this car even going to make it without a stop for gas anyway?"

His jaw set, but he didn't answer. Three exits later, though, he turned off the highway and into a truck stop. He pulled up to a gas pump. "Salazar, you got this?"

"Yeah," said Sean as he clambered out of his seat.

"Give me some of those twenties your old man gave you. I'll go in and take care of paying." He glanced at Corinna. "Park when you're done. I want to take a leak and maybe a shower, if they're open this time of night."

A shower? Now, after he'd been visibly angry about even stopping?

He didn't even acknowledge her when she trailed him into the truck stop. Instead he paid for the gas, picked up a shower token, and headed for the back of the building. She took a trip to the bathroom herself, cleaning up as best she could in the sink, and then wandered back up front to browse the merchandise without really seeing it.

Sean appeared next to her after a while. "Didn't you say thirty or forty minutes?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

He pointed to his watch. "He's been in there for an hour."

Who the hell took hour-long showers to begin with, especially after so clearly wanting to keep moving? Without even thinking about it, Corinna made her way back to the shower rooms. The second door was closed and she could hear water running behind it.

"Tully!" she shouted. "What's keeping you?"

There was no answer.

This time, she pounded on the door. "Tully, damn it. Let's get moving."

And wasn't that a turnabout? When she still didn't get an answer, Corinna made an irritated noise, stepped into the room, and poked her head around the shower partition. What she saw made her catch her breath.

Tully was curled up on the floor in the corner, arms wrapped around his legs, shoulders shaking.

"Oh, God." She shucked her own clothes – she'd need them dry when they got back out onto the road – and climbed into the shower. "Alex. Get up."

He didn't acknowledge her. Asking what was wrong was pointless, she knew. "Hey. You said it yourself. We need to get to Cairo. It's where they want you next. It's where –" her voice caught. "It's where Kathryn will be."

He loosened a little at that, allowing her to take one arm, but it still took an effort to leverage him up. The disparity in their heights meant she was almost on the floor before it was done, and she continued holding onto his hand to anchor herself as she straightened back up and met his eyes.

It was when she saw them flare that it finally occurred to her. They were standing in a shower, without anyone else around, and neither one of them was wearing a stitch.

Corinna wasn't one to blush easily, but she could feel heat prickling across her skin now. "Sorry. Let's get you out of here."

He didn't let go. The flare in his eyes darkened into something else, something she wasn't sure she could name. It could have been anger, or despair, or any one of a long list of things, but she doubted it was anything positive. Even so, when he snatched her other wrist and spun her against the tile wall, she wasn't surprised.

For him, she figured, this was little different than the night under the tree.

But just like then, he showed more consideration than she'd expected. One hand slid down to support her leg as she wrapped it around his waist, and the other slid between to her center, stroking gently. A sudden explosion of desire shot through her, stronger than Corinna had expected, and she arched her back against the tension. Against him.

She thought he might avoid her eyes, but he caught them instead. The expression on his face had become unreadable, one she knew she'd never figure out even if she had a hundred years to study. Her hands crept down his back, around his hips, slid next to his to cup him.

He was heavy, ready for her, and with a wordless mutter, he lifted her hips and buried himself inside her. Corinna couldn't keep herself from crying out softly at the contact, couldn't stop her eyelids from falling closed. She didn't fight it, choosing instead to let herself have the moment. She'd needed this release, too.

That was when he pressed his face into her shoulder, the way he had the first time. His breath was hot against her neck, and their breathing fell into a rhythm that matched the timing of their movements. There was a different kind of tension building now, a tightening wire that she knew would whip through both of them when it snapped. When it did, she dug her nails into his back, arching against him as he made his last, final, thrust and emptied into her.

And breathed his wife's name into her skin.

They didn't speak as they came down from the moment and untangled themselves. He avoided her eyes as he shut off the shower and passed her one of the towels so that she could dry off before getting back into her clothes.

He finally spoke up when she reached for the doorknob. "Corinna. I'm sorry."

She opened the door, not answering, unable to speak because she couldn't bring herself to tell him the truth. _I'm not._


End file.
